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Preface

It is the year 1863, the age of outstanding zoological discoveries.

The established materials for three-dimensional models for the visualisation of biological research results are wax, papier mâché, wood, plaster – all of which are unsuitable for fragile life forms such as jellyfish, sea anemones, polyps, the so-called marine invertebrates. Leopold Blaschka opts for a complicated material, delicate, brittle and extremely complex to work with: glass!

Until 1890 Blaschka, together with his son Rudolf, creates perfect glass models that find their way into scientific institutions worldwide. The models continue to amaze scientists until today: they bear up to scientific scrutiny down to the very last detail and are above all transparent pieces of art of unique fragile beauty – the perfect amalgamation of art and science.

The renowned photographers Heidi and Hans-Jürgen Koch have congenially transformed the Blaschkas’ art into pictures.

Their photos preserve the mysterious aura of both the glass models and the marine organisms themselves. Heidi and Hans-Jürgen Koch have received numerous awards, among others at the World Press Photo Award, Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Fuji Euro Award and at the German Science Photography Award, and were appointed members of the German Photographic Association in 2004. In addition, the German Photographic Association awarded them with the Dr.-Erich-Salomon-Prize in 2011.

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